Fort Harrison, sometimes called Fort Ben, is an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located in

Lawrence, Indiana Lawrence is a city in Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. It is one of four " excluded cities" in Marion County. The city is home to Fort Benjamin Harrison within Fort Harrison State Park. The population was 49,370 at ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and occupies part of the former site of

Fort Benjamin Harrison Fort Benjamin Harrison was a U.S. Army post located in suburban Lawrence Township, Marion County, Indiana, northeast of Indianapolis, between 1906 and 1991. It is named for the 23rd United States president, Benjamin Harrison. History In 190 ...

. The park features a former Citizen's Military Training Camp,

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

camp, and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

. There are also

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

king and walking/jogging trails including a connection to the Fall Creek Greenway. The park receives nearly 900,000 visitors annually. The park was 1 of 14 Indiana State Parks that were in the path of totality for the 2024 solar eclipse, with 3 minutes and 48 seconds of totality.

History

Fort Harrison was opened in 1906 by United States President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, honoring former President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

, who was from Indianapolis. The idea came from Lieutenant Colonel Russell Harrison, son of recently deceased Benjamin Harrison, who wanted to keep a military facility in Indianapolis due to the legacy of such Indianapolis military facilities as

Camp Morton Camp Morton was a military training ground and a Union prisoner-of-war camp in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the American Civil War. It was named for Indiana governor Oliver Morton. Prior to the war, the site served as the fairgrounds for the ...

. General Order #117 on June 28, 1904, ordered a land purchase for military use from

downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area in and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65 in Indiana, Interstate 65, Interstate 70 in Indiana, Interstate 70, and the White ...

.Official State Park brochure: http://www.in.gov/dnr/files/ftharrison_trail.pdf The fort was finished in 1908, after the construction of brick barracks, headquarters, officer's houses, and hospital. Other support structures, such as horse stables, were finished at the time. The Tenth Infantry Regiment immediately moved in after these facilities were constructed. The fort represented the first effort to make a national army using state militia forces. It acted as classrooms, soldier support, and troop reception for all United States military activities from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

to Operation: Desert Storm. During

, the base had a

.State Parks & Reservoirs
/ref> During the 1970s and 1980s, the area around Fort Harrison was attracting residents of Asian descent and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics. The athlete village for the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

was built inside Fort Benjamin Harrison. Dining, lodging, nightclubbing, and practice facilities were constructed within the village. Governor Bayh visits with young Hoosiers at the opening of the new Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park in Indianapolis

Governor Bayh visits with young Hoosiers at the opening of the new Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park in Indianapolis

Following the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

, the United States government began downsizing by closing bases. Thus, in 1991 Fort Harrison of Indianapolis was decommissioned. The base had several amenities, including an officers' club, three officers' homes, special housing for

Very Important Person A very important person (VIP or V.I.P.) or personage is a person who is accorded special privilege (legal ethics), privileges due to their high social rank, social status, status, social influence, influence, or Importance (disambiguation), impo ...

s, and an eighteen-hole

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

. It also featured one of the largest

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s in central Indiana.Conn 94 The United States Department of the Interior chose in 1995 to give of Fort Harrison's to the

Indiana Department of Natural Resources The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the U.S. state of Indiana. There are many divisions within the DNR and each has a specific role. The DNR is not only responsible for maintaining resource areas but also manages ...

for use as a state park, similar to how

Charlestown State Park Charlestown State Park is an Indiana state park on in Clark County, Indiana, in the United States. The park is on the banks of the Ohio River, east of Charlestown. It was once part of the Indiana Army Ammunition Plant (INAAP), and was dona ...

started in Southern Indiana. During the time that the Indiana Governor's mansion was being redone in 2003 to make it accessible to handicapped individuals, Indiana governor

Frank O'Bannon Frank Lewis O'Bannon (January 30, 1930 – September 13, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. He is the most recent American state Governor to have died in office. O'Ba ...

and his wife lived at the Harrison House, the park's inn, as their official residence. Prior to the formation of the park, it had been a nurses dorm during World War II and later a VIP residence. They spent most of the year living there. When state governor's mansion was finished, the O'Bannon's moved out and the Harrison House was once again available for the general public to use. Current plans include moving the

Bell Ford Bridge The Bell Ford Post Patented Diagonal "Combination Bridge", often simply called the Bell Ford Bridge or Bell Ford Covered Bridge, is a dilapidated covered bridge located in Jackson County, Indiana, northwest of Seymour, Indiana. The bridge origin ...

from

Jackson County, Indiana Jackson County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 46,428. The county seat is Brownstown, Indiana, Brownstown. History Jackson County was formed in 1816. It was named after G ...

, into the park, allowing an additional way for pedestrians and bikers to cross Fall Creek.

Features

Unlike most state parks in Indiana, Fort Harrison is a day-use park, with its only overnight facilities being the inn, The Fort Golf Resort, which was the old officers' club. The fort's eighteen-hole

makes the park popular with Indianapolis golfers; it was redesigned by

Pete Dye Paul Dye Jr. (December 29, 1925 – January 9, 2020), commonly referred to as Pete Dye, was an American golf course designer and a member of a family of course designers. He was married to fellow designer and amateur champion Alice Dye. Earl ...

after the fort's closure, making it a 72-par course. Only golfers are allowed on the course. The VIP housing became the Harrison House Suites, and the four Officer's Homes are available for overnight lodging as well. There are six hiking trails, and one for horseback riding, with horse rentals available. One of the hiking trails, Harrison Trace Trail, is paved, making it available for bikers and in-line skating. The longest of the trails is the Lawrence Creek Trail, which is a , single-track trail for mountain biking and walking. The wildflowers take the place of the ravines and steep hillsides typical of state parks in southern Indiana. Biking and fishing are also available; the park office sells the necessary state fishing permit. In winter, ice fishing is available. An interpretive center at the park office informs visitors of the history and natural environment of the park. Fall Creek runs for inside the park, with smaller tributaries feeding it which are also within the boundaries of the park.

Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrel ...

s, and

turtle Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...

s are the most commonly seen wildlife in the park; a

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

pond is off-limits for visitors.

Museum of 20th Century Warfare

The Museum of 20th Century Warfare is located in Building 711 in the Historic Camp Glenn area of the park with exhibits about the Fort and technology, artifacts, uniforms and soldiers of the 20th Century. A model of the USS ''Indianapolis'' is part of the permanent exhibit. Temporary exhibits are changed every three months. The museum's programming includes re-enactments and living history camps. There is no admission fee other than the fee charged to enter the park.

References

External links

Indiana Department of Natural Resources' official Web page
{{authority control Protected areas established in 1996 State parks of Indiana Parks in Indianapolis Civilian Conservation Corps in Indiana Protected areas of Marion County, Indiana Nature centers in Indiana Museums in Marion County, Indiana Military and war museums in Indiana 1996 establishments in Indiana

History

Features

Museum of 20th Century Warfare

See also

References

External links